Fixing Benches
by MyUsedRomance
Summary: Sasuke never forgot the night he left Sakura on the bench; neither did she. Now, years later, at Sasuke's return, they try to fix them. better than summary . sasusaku.


When he returned to Konoha with Team Hawk at his side (he had tuned out Karin at the first mention of 'kun'), the first thing he noticed was the absence of the bench next to the garbage bin in Konoha's entryway. Something in his stomach squirmed and he remembered pink.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Very vaguely, he remembered a different voice with the same words. It had been someone with green eyes (I love you) and pink hair (I'll go with you), laying down with her eyes closed and (Thank you) her warmth. He remembers the warmth on that chilly night and her body against his own. This realization hurts the most.

Soft skin.

(I love you)

And green eyes.

(Please!)

With pink hair.

(Sakura)

Pink hair.

(Sakura… thank you)

"Sasuke-kun!"

+-+-+-+- sticks and stones don't hurt my bones -+-+-+-+

The smell of sterile bed sheets wakes him up. For some reason, he expects shinny sunlight coming from the window and maybe, just maybe, clean peeled apples cut perfectly in fives. Instead, soft taps on the window greet him and the grey sky is not the only thing glooming. Resting on the small table he finds what seems to be two small bottles of medicine.

"Aa."

"Well, I'm glad you're up. Your friends started to worry about you," said a soft voice coming from the door. It belongs to a petite girl with dark hair. He reckons he is under her care. "Uchiha-san, should I call them in?"

He nods yes without a second thought.

When he sees Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo he hides his disappointment. He turns towards the window and remains quiet for the rest of the day.

+-+-+-+- you forgot how to read between the lines -+-+-+-+

Tsunade had paid him a visit the following morning discussing his punishment. One year probation seemed too little, but he supposed getting rid of Orochimaru had taken a lot of weight of her shoulders. As she was leaving, he noticed her pause as if trying to tell him something (and he can't deny now that he almost asked her about them), but continued her walk as if nothing had happened.

Kakashi stops by the afternoon.

Something seemed off with his old (because he can't bring himself to admit it was _ex_) sensei, but he doesn't say anything. He just looks as Kakashi takes out a book, sits on the chair by the bed and starts reading. Sasuke doesn't say anything, doesn't ask about them. He sits up and it's in the silence of the room that he realizes Kakashi has forgiven him. If he was someone else, he would have smiled. But he was Uchiha Sasuke and all he says is, "Hn. Old pervert."

Kakashi looks up and he knows that their sharingan is not the only thing they have in common. He grins and that's how he falls asleep.

+-+-+-+- because we're more than what we ought to be -+-+-+-+

He asks for apples on the third day and Karin with much enthusiasm brings him some from the market. He forgets when she stopped peeling them and started fighting with Suigetsu instead (he thinks though it was when he mentioned she was too stupid to peel them, and it was best to just cut them, at which point Suigetsu had taken his "knife" out), so he grabs one of them and takes a bite. The taste is bitter and not at all like – just not like he likes them and throws it across the room to the garbage bin, but it never hits.

"Out," he tells his team and they leave without hesitation.

"Teme."

He tries to respond (truly he does) but his brain seems to only do one motion lately. He nods his head and blinks.

Naruto walks to the table and picks up one of the bottles. "So this is what has you here? Exhaustion. Hah. I thought you were dying or had been poisoned. That would've been better than _exhaustion_."

Sasuke doesn't tell him to shut up, nor does he ask him how he knows. He tells himself Naruto knows the medicine because he's had it before (but in reality he knows there is a chance Sakura had taught him).

Sakura.

"How long will you be staying? I want to clear my schedule to fight you. This time, I'll win," Naruto says as he stands beside the window as if looking for something.

"You don't have to. I'll be here for a while."

He notices he doesn't say he'll never leave, but knows Naruto got the message.

"Well, get out soon. I need to kick your ass, it's been too long!" There's a hint of the twelve year old Naruto that he remembered.

"Hn. Dobe."

There's a hint of Sasuke that remains.

+-+-+-+- you're not really there, it's just the radio -+-+-+-+

Yuki (the nurse that takes care of him) told him about her. She was a doctor now, maybe even challenging Tsunade's strength and methods. He learns that she's done a lot for the village and that they all love her. Figures, he muses, with a personality like hers, all around people's faces and always trying to help, he is not surprised they love her.

He doesn't think about the fact that she hasn't stopped by. He doesn't think about her or how she could be down the hall curing someone else. He doesn't think about pink hair and big foreheads. He doesn't think about fresh, peeled green apples and sunshine.

He dreams about them instead.

About the little pink haired girl left on that bench.

On the fourth night, he stops staring at the door.

+-+-+-+- building bridges fixing benches -+-+-+-+

He's allowed to visit the gardens on the sixth day.

If you ask him now, he'll deny that he was looking for her. Uchihas need remain in character, he'd say. But at that moment, his brain shut down, palms got sweaty, and his heart beat accelerated.

He wasn't at all excited.

Sasuke was not looking for pink hair, no. Pink was on little girl's robes, on the cherry blossoms , on the old man's hat, on the candy in the baby's palm, even on the sunlight (he realized that if one squeezes their eyes really close, little pink rays show up). He was looking for green eyes and their starlight.

When he rationalizes (and calculates) that maybe this is one of those days where she has the day off, he sits on the closest bench he sees and leans against the wall. He breathes in and thinks of ways to go on next week. A schedule should be made, he reasons, when to eat, sleep, and breathe. Maybe he'd add an extra hour to sleeping (green apples and sun shines) and five more to breathing (warm skin, he remembers).

But the same warmth remains near him and he's touching it now and feeling it and –

Pink hair is tickling his arm but he doesn't laugh (because Uchihas don't laugh), but he shivers and – it's her, sitting next to him, leaning against the wall, sitting next to him.

Next to him.

Beside him.

With him.

(Always)

"Sakura…"

He thinks he sees a smile on her lips for a second, but the frown she has now makes him think otherwise.

"I can't forgive you."

He'd hear a crack about this instant, but his heart is still… _waiting_.

"I'm not – " he starts, but she opens her eyes and looks directly at him (green apples and sun shines and smiles and –).

"I know. It'll be hard. But I don't, I can't go through it again. I won' run after you this time. If you leave, it'll have to be forever. Can you promise me that?" The determination in her words didn't hide the true fear in her eyes. "Can you promise me to never leave?"

"I can promise to never let you go."

"Sasuke."

"Kun. Sasuke-kun, please." He'd admit to begging any day for her to just add the suffix to his name. "Please, Sakura."

"Can we be a forever, Sasuke-kun?" She asked timidly.

He grinned.

"We can be a right now."

-//.

On the seventh day, he had fresh, peeled green apples cut in fives; sun shines illuminating sterile bed sheets; smiles and Sakura.


End file.
